Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts with maple glaze

I didn’t know Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts existed before I thought them up and went running to my kitchen.

Turns out they do exist… and they existed all over my kitchen counter before they stopped existing because I ate them all.

Ok. Not true. I didn’t eat them aalllll. I shared… but I really didn’t want to.

Kinda cool, right!? Are you gonna make these or what?

Just so we’re clear, what we’re dealing with here is two squares (ok.. yea.. rectangles) of buttery dough, stuffed with spiced pumpkin pie filling.

Pumpkin pie used to be on the list of things that I hated… along with the first day of school, boys, eggplant and spiders.

It would seem that pumpkin pie has grown on me.

… I’ve also developed a fondness for boys.

But the first day of school, eggplant and spiders call all just suck an egg.

Is that an expression?

I found this little gentleman on my front porch while I was baking up these pop tarts.

Want.

I busted out the ruler for this recipe, but I still ended up with slightly wonky tarts. Precision isn’t my deal.

Luckily butter and flour still taste good, even when they’re crooked.

My Great Aunt Mary stopped by for a visit while I was baking. She’s approximately 74 times more awesome than you and me. She’s traveled all over the world. Literally. Everywhere. She likes bus tours. She loves margaritas and cookies. She can sew like a stone cold maniac…. and she wears teal trousers.

Man… she’s so cool.

Of course I gave her one of these tarts to take home. It was the right thing to do.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add the cold butter and break it up in the flour mixture using your fingers, a pastry cutter or a food processor. There may seem like there’s a ton of butter in your flour. There is. Work it in until only pea sized lumps remain in your mixture. The mixture should also hold together when squeezed into a ball.

In a small bowl, beat the egg with the milk. Add the mixture all at once to the dry ingredients and stir to make sure that moisture is introduced to all of the flour mixture. Lightly dust a clean counter with flour and knead the dough on the floured counter for a few turns until it really starts to come together. Divide the dough in two, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. I find that the dough is just a bit easier to work with when it’s chilled.

While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling:

In a small sauce pan, heat pumpkin puree and spices over medium heat. Just heat through until the spices become fragrant. This helps to bring loads of flavor into the filling. Remove from heat and place spiced pumpkin in a medium sized bowl. Whisk in egg, salt and sugar and place in the fridge to rest while you roll out the dough.

On a well floured work surface, press dough into a 3×5-inch rectangle, roll the dough out to about 1/8-inch thickness. The dough should be slightly larger than 9×12-inches. Trim dough with a pizza cutter, creating a rectangle that is 9-inches tall and 12-inches long. Using the pizza cutter, cut each side into thirds, creating 9 squares. Place dough squares in the fridge while you roll out the second piece of dough in the same way.

Brush one set of 9 squares with beaten egg. This will act as the glue for the top layer of dough. Spoon about one tablespoon of pie filling into the center of each brushed dough square. Top with a piece of dough and use a floured fork to crimp the sides closed. Use the tines of the fork to create vent holes in each tart.

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Let tarts rest in the fridge for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.

Remove tarts from the fridge and place in the oven to bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

While the tarts bake, whisk together ingredients for the glaze and set aside.

Let baked tarts rest on a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing. Best served within 2 days.

Okay. Now. I recently made pop-tarts and brought them into some coworkers. They died. They ask for me frequently. And I never, ever would’ve thought to do them with pumpkin. Brilliance, joy. I’m on it :)